St. Gregory celebrates

St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church held its fourth annual “Our Lady of Guadalupe” celebration on Sunday.

This celebration is in honor of the Virgin Mary’s appearance on Dec. 9, 1531 in Tepeyac, Mexico, to an Aztec Indian named Juan Diego.

After three visions, Juan Diego was told to pass on a message to the bishop to build a church. The bishop however did not believe the message. Juan Diego went back to the Blessed Mother who soothed him and told him to gather the roses nearby of which had never grown in the desert before, or in the middle of winter and bring those back to the bishop. Juan Diego brought the roses back to the bishop who then believed in his visions.

That miracle resulted in the conversion of 9 million natives to Catholicism. In current times, celebrants of the day bring roses and candles to honor Mary, who is also the Patroness of the America’s. The celebration at SGG included a processional rosary before the Mass which included people dressed in traditional attire, a band and flags of the Americas. During the Mass, a children’s choir sang and a traditional group of Mexican dancers danced before Mary.